Post by ferryfast admin on Apr 9, 2005 22:36:25 GMT -5
Ferry terminals offer tickets to ride
09.04.05
by Chris Barton
www.nzherald.co.nz/
Part #1
Kevin Brown is taken aback at the suggestion the new downtown ferry terminal might be another white elephant like the Britomart train and bus station. He doesn't like the premise. Britomart is not a white elephant.
"The degree to which people think these things are white elephants is inversely proportional to their foresight," says the chief executive of Auckland Regional Transport Network (ARTNL) the company responsible for building Auckland's passenger transport terminals.
ARTNL
www.artnl.co.nz/
Brown is a pragmatist and of the if-you-build-it-they-will-come school of public transport. "Our job is to move forward and get things done but to use relationships to make sure the right thing happens."
Hence the flurry of new ferry terminals, not just the $10.6 million redevelopment of four piers downtown, but also all around the harbour - Westpark, Beach Haven, Birkenhead, Bayswater, Northcote, Gulf Harbour and more. All up, ARTNL has a $20 million grant from Infrastructure Auckland, which it expects to finish spending in about 18 months - that is, if it manages to get through entrenched litigation at Half Moon Bay, protracted ownership wrangles at Devonport, and drawn-out resource management consents for other terminal proposals.
But, as many a ferry commuter will argue, instead of spending all that money on flash terminals, why not provide what commuters want: more frequent ferry sailings and more ferries? And what's the point of new terminals around the harbour when there's nowhere to park the car? Isn't this back to front - putting the cart-dock before the cart with the horse trailing along way behind?
Brown believes it's better to do something rather than nothing. "Let's build the terminals and encourage the councils to look at parking. Even though it's not our mandate, let's try to resolve the issues as we go." It's true, too, that ferries can't operate without wharves and that many of Auckland's piers are a disgrace - dilapidated or barely functional.
The new terminal on Pier 1 gets cheers and criticism. Yes, it's spacious and airy and the new toilets are lovely and clean. And the gull wing roofs that soar over the historic gable colonnade are a happy mix of heritage and modern. But in certain winds the open shells create a wind tunnel effect and the passenger bottleneck - disembarking and at ticket collection - is as bad as ever.
Wouldn't it have been better to spend the money on electronic ticketing and turnstiles? And wider gangways and pontoons so passengers can quickly get on and off?
Give it time, says Brown, who believes passenger flows will improve when the exit way and drop-off zone beside the old brick Ferry Building is functional and the bridge in front of Cin Cin restaurant connecting Piers 1 and 2 is built. Integrated electronic ticketing is still on the drawing board and turnstiles can be put in at a later date.
But on April 4, the day of the Stagecoach bus strike, passenger flows on the 5.30pm sailing to Devonport are in chaos. Disembarking passengers battle against a wave of commuters rushing to get on board and, as a packed-to-gunwales Kea lumbers away from the wharf, a throng of hapless commuters is left behind.
Brown acknowledges some things are not perfect. Like the harbour cruise kiosk in front of Pier 1, which can't be demolished because there is another 11 years to run on the lease.
Or that there is no covered pedestrian link to the train station. Why wasn't one put underground? "Cost prohibitive," says Brown. But ARTNL is trying to get the glass canopy next to the buses in Queen Elizabeth Square extended across Quay St - although he imagines it will be a long battle getting resource consent.
Then there's the issue of "park and ride" - the lack of parking at most ferry terminals around the harbour. When would-be commuters can't park and bus feeder services are minimal, they don't ride.
It's a frustrating situation for Fullers chief executive George Hudson: "We currently can't grow the market because we are limited at peak time by lack of park and ride at Devonport, Birkenhead and Half Moon Bay - so there needs to be some longer-term planning."
Brown says parking is outside ARTNL's mandate because funding for parking facilities comes from local authorities. "It's a fundamental issue in the region. There has to be a policy on park and ride at both ferry terminals and railway stations, but under the current governance structure that's going to be impossible."
Impossible because not all councils agree on the need for it or on the way to fund it. What's needed says Brown is a clear mandate - a regional policy on the need for park and ride and its funding.
In many cases space is also needed - an issue that can be resolved only by unpalatable solutions such as multilevel carparks, reclamation or buying private properties. Infrastructure headaches are far from the mind as the Pine Harbour ferry slips on a glassy harbour into its berth at Pier 3 on a stunning March morning.
Skipper Kevin Turner helps the 35 or so commuters on to the pontoon just after 7am to the noises of the city waking up. The 13.1m catamaran powered by twin Hamilton jets does the 12 nautical miles from Pine Harbour in 30-35 minutes. Compared with the drivers battling the 75-minute rush-hour trip using the Southern Motorway, Pine Harbour ferry commuters are in heaven.
If there is to be a renaissance in ferry services in Auckland, the Pine Harbour boat leads the small-is-beautiful way. Compact, fast, highly manoeuvrable with a shallow 65cm draught and low wash, the boat,
which is manned by the skipper alone, is ideal for getting quickly to the far reaches of the Waitemata Harbour. Turner believes a fleet of such craft (water buses carrying up to 40 passengers a trip) could provide a huge boost to Auckland's public transport services.
The Pine Harbour ferry also shows how public-private partnerships can work. The brainchild of entrepreneur Allan Drinkrow, the service was started about two years ago to serve Beachland's city commuters. Pine Harbour Marina, which runs the ferry, was able to expand services thanks to a passenger subsidy from the Auckland Regional Transport Authority. It now operates seven daily sailings, weekdays.
But the ferry is nearing capacity on peak runs. To expand Pine Harbour needs another boat - but at $800,000 for a similar vessel, no one is stepping forward with the capital.
See Part #2
09.04.05
by Chris Barton
www.nzherald.co.nz/
Part #1
Kevin Brown is taken aback at the suggestion the new downtown ferry terminal might be another white elephant like the Britomart train and bus station. He doesn't like the premise. Britomart is not a white elephant.
"The degree to which people think these things are white elephants is inversely proportional to their foresight," says the chief executive of Auckland Regional Transport Network (ARTNL) the company responsible for building Auckland's passenger transport terminals.
ARTNL
www.artnl.co.nz/
Brown is a pragmatist and of the if-you-build-it-they-will-come school of public transport. "Our job is to move forward and get things done but to use relationships to make sure the right thing happens."
Hence the flurry of new ferry terminals, not just the $10.6 million redevelopment of four piers downtown, but also all around the harbour - Westpark, Beach Haven, Birkenhead, Bayswater, Northcote, Gulf Harbour and more. All up, ARTNL has a $20 million grant from Infrastructure Auckland, which it expects to finish spending in about 18 months - that is, if it manages to get through entrenched litigation at Half Moon Bay, protracted ownership wrangles at Devonport, and drawn-out resource management consents for other terminal proposals.
But, as many a ferry commuter will argue, instead of spending all that money on flash terminals, why not provide what commuters want: more frequent ferry sailings and more ferries? And what's the point of new terminals around the harbour when there's nowhere to park the car? Isn't this back to front - putting the cart-dock before the cart with the horse trailing along way behind?
Brown believes it's better to do something rather than nothing. "Let's build the terminals and encourage the councils to look at parking. Even though it's not our mandate, let's try to resolve the issues as we go." It's true, too, that ferries can't operate without wharves and that many of Auckland's piers are a disgrace - dilapidated or barely functional.
The new terminal on Pier 1 gets cheers and criticism. Yes, it's spacious and airy and the new toilets are lovely and clean. And the gull wing roofs that soar over the historic gable colonnade are a happy mix of heritage and modern. But in certain winds the open shells create a wind tunnel effect and the passenger bottleneck - disembarking and at ticket collection - is as bad as ever.
Wouldn't it have been better to spend the money on electronic ticketing and turnstiles? And wider gangways and pontoons so passengers can quickly get on and off?
Give it time, says Brown, who believes passenger flows will improve when the exit way and drop-off zone beside the old brick Ferry Building is functional and the bridge in front of Cin Cin restaurant connecting Piers 1 and 2 is built. Integrated electronic ticketing is still on the drawing board and turnstiles can be put in at a later date.
But on April 4, the day of the Stagecoach bus strike, passenger flows on the 5.30pm sailing to Devonport are in chaos. Disembarking passengers battle against a wave of commuters rushing to get on board and, as a packed-to-gunwales Kea lumbers away from the wharf, a throng of hapless commuters is left behind.
Brown acknowledges some things are not perfect. Like the harbour cruise kiosk in front of Pier 1, which can't be demolished because there is another 11 years to run on the lease.
Or that there is no covered pedestrian link to the train station. Why wasn't one put underground? "Cost prohibitive," says Brown. But ARTNL is trying to get the glass canopy next to the buses in Queen Elizabeth Square extended across Quay St - although he imagines it will be a long battle getting resource consent.
Then there's the issue of "park and ride" - the lack of parking at most ferry terminals around the harbour. When would-be commuters can't park and bus feeder services are minimal, they don't ride.
It's a frustrating situation for Fullers chief executive George Hudson: "We currently can't grow the market because we are limited at peak time by lack of park and ride at Devonport, Birkenhead and Half Moon Bay - so there needs to be some longer-term planning."
Brown says parking is outside ARTNL's mandate because funding for parking facilities comes from local authorities. "It's a fundamental issue in the region. There has to be a policy on park and ride at both ferry terminals and railway stations, but under the current governance structure that's going to be impossible."
Impossible because not all councils agree on the need for it or on the way to fund it. What's needed says Brown is a clear mandate - a regional policy on the need for park and ride and its funding.
In many cases space is also needed - an issue that can be resolved only by unpalatable solutions such as multilevel carparks, reclamation or buying private properties. Infrastructure headaches are far from the mind as the Pine Harbour ferry slips on a glassy harbour into its berth at Pier 3 on a stunning March morning.
Skipper Kevin Turner helps the 35 or so commuters on to the pontoon just after 7am to the noises of the city waking up. The 13.1m catamaran powered by twin Hamilton jets does the 12 nautical miles from Pine Harbour in 30-35 minutes. Compared with the drivers battling the 75-minute rush-hour trip using the Southern Motorway, Pine Harbour ferry commuters are in heaven.
If there is to be a renaissance in ferry services in Auckland, the Pine Harbour boat leads the small-is-beautiful way. Compact, fast, highly manoeuvrable with a shallow 65cm draught and low wash, the boat,
which is manned by the skipper alone, is ideal for getting quickly to the far reaches of the Waitemata Harbour. Turner believes a fleet of such craft (water buses carrying up to 40 passengers a trip) could provide a huge boost to Auckland's public transport services.
The Pine Harbour ferry also shows how public-private partnerships can work. The brainchild of entrepreneur Allan Drinkrow, the service was started about two years ago to serve Beachland's city commuters. Pine Harbour Marina, which runs the ferry, was able to expand services thanks to a passenger subsidy from the Auckland Regional Transport Authority. It now operates seven daily sailings, weekdays.
But the ferry is nearing capacity on peak runs. To expand Pine Harbour needs another boat - but at $800,000 for a similar vessel, no one is stepping forward with the capital.
See Part #2